Since its launch in 2010 and the subsequent acquisition by Meta, Instagram has changed considerably. The social media platform is constantly rolling out new features to keep up with user demand.
One of the latest features is the like feature for stories. Before this feature premiered, you could only send a message or an emoji to react to someone’s story.
With the new like feature, you can like a story posted by your friends or Instagram influencers. So how do you like an Instagram story?
To like an Instagram story, Open Instagram, tap the story you want to like, and tap the heart icon at the bottom of the story. This heart icon is between the “Send message” text bar and the send icon.
If you want to know how to like Instagram stories, read this article to the end.
Overview of Liking Instagram Stories
Instagram stories help you share special memories, life events, and milestones with friends and family. You can keep your followers engaged and boost your online visibility through these short-term updates.
If someone you follow has posted stories on their profile, it’s good to react to show love and support.
For a long time, Instagram offered only one option to respond to someone’s stories; sending a message or emoji as a direct message (DM).
In February 2022, the social platform added a new heart icon that lets you like someone’s stories. You can find this icon between the “Send message” text bar and the send/paper airplane icon at the bottom of a story.
Let’s get into more details on how to like Instagram stories.
How To Like an Instagram Story?
Have you seen a beautiful story on Instagram from a friend or influencer? You can like the story to show your support or approval.
Follow the below steps to like an Instagram story:
- Open Instagram on any device.
- Open the story you want to like.
- Tap the heart icon at the bottom right to like the story.
There have been complaints from Instagram users who can’t find the heart icon on stories. If you can’t find this icon on your stories, your Instagram app version may be outdated. To fix the issue, uninstall and reinstall the app or go to the App Store or Google Play Store and update it.
Are Likes for Instagram Stories Public?
When you double tap someone’s post on Instagram, other people who follow the person can see who liked the post.
Unlike reactions to posts on the newsfeed, reactions to stories are only visible to the owner.
Only you and the owner will know you liked the story.
How To See Who Liked Your Instagram Story
It’s normal to want to know who watched and liked your story, whether a personal photo, video, or promotional content.
You can see who liked your stories by looking at the viewer sheet. This viewer sheet appears at the bottom left corner of your story.
Below are the steps to follow to see who liked your Instagram story:
- Open the Instagram app on your mobile device.
- Tap on your story to open it.
- Swipe up on the screen.
- You’ll see a list of viewers. Those that liked your story will have a red heart icon next to their profile picture.
You cannot access this feature in the Instagram browser version.
How To Unlike Instagram Stories?
Suppose you accidentally liked someone’s story and want to unlike it. You can achieve this by opening the story and tapping the heart icon.
When you like someone’s story, the heart icon at the bottom turns red. After unliking, the red heart icon becomes white again. Follow these steps to unlike an Instagram story:
- Open Instagram on any device.
- Open the story you want to unlike.
- Tap the red heart icon to make it white. You have unliked that story.
You might not have the unliking option when you close the app and reopen it.
Winding Up
Reacting to someone’s Instagram stories shows you care and support what they have posted. To like Instagram stories, ensure your app is up-to-date, open the stories and tap the heart icon at the bottom of each story.
The owner will receive a notification that you liked their story. Only you and the owner of the story will know you liked the story.
We hope this article has shown you how to like Instagram stories.
FAQs
One of the reasons why you can’t find the like button on your Instagram stories is that your app is out-of-date. To solve this issue, do any of the following:
– Uninstall and reinstall the app.
– Go to the App Store or Google Play Store on your phone and update the app
The like button on Instagram stories is a heart icon between the “Send message” text bar and the send/paper airplane icon.
Only you and the person who posted the story can see you liked their story.
Currently, there is no way to see all the stories you’ve liked on Instagram. If you want to see the stories you liked, you’d need to rewatch all the stories and check for a red heart at the bottom of each story.
